Democracy Can Overcome Inequality, Wokeism and China’s Rise
The second of a two-part conversation with "End of History?" author Francis Fukuyama looks at neoliberalism's threat to democracy.
Francis Fukuyama, author of “The End of History.”
Photographer: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
In the first half of our recent conversation, published last week, Francis Fukuyama and I discussed the global “democratic recession” and the threat of right-wing populism to liberal institutions in the US and beyond. I had little doubt he would eventually shift his critical eye to the other side of the political spectrum: extreme progressivism and identity politics. And he didn’t disappoint.
But we also spoke at length about a less obvious villain: neoliberalism. Taken down to its essence, neoliberalism is a political approach that favors free-market capitalism, deregulation and lower government spending. It’s been the state of play for four decades — Millennials and Gen-Z’ers haven’t known anything else, which helps explain the antagonism so many of them feel for it. They missed out on this: